Golf briefs
Advertiser Staff
'03 Skins players are confirmed
The foursomes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Hale Irwin, and Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Laura Davies and Laura Diaz have been confirmed as participants in the 2003 ConAgra Foods Champions and LPGA Skins Games.
The Champions will play Jan. 25 at Wailea Resort's Gold Course. Irwin has won the last three Skins titles. The four legends will play for $600,000 over 18 holes, as will the LPGA the following day. Sorenstam won 11 events this season.
The Skins format makes each hole a tournament within itself. Prize money carries over if no player wins a hole outright. The $600,000 purse is broken down to $20,000 for each of the first six holes, $30,000 for each of the middle six holes, $40,000 each for holes 13 through 17, and $100,000 for the 18th hole. The players will donate 20 percent of their winnings to the charity of their choice.Ê
The first 12 holes of the Champions Skins Game will be televised Saturday, with the final six holes serving as a Super Bowl Sunday warmup on ABC. The LPGA Skins will be shown in July on ESPN2.
Admission is $10 for Friday's LPGA/Champions Pro-Am and $25 Saturday or Sunday. A $50 season pass, good for all three days, is also available. Children 12-under are free with a ticket-holding adult.
Tickets will be available at Wailea Golf Club pro shops and the gate, or by phone and the Internet. Call 1-800-332-1614 or visit SkinsGamesSeries.com.
Amatour finale this weekend
Amatour Hawai'i's inaugural season concludes this weekend with the New 'Ewa Beach Tour Championship.
Double points will be awarded and determine the tour's Player of the Year. Joe Phengsavath, winner of the Hawai'i Prince Championship, is the current leader with 1,105 points. Randy Shibuya, who won the Ko'olau Golf Course Challenge, heads the list of players chasing Phengsavath. It includes Duane Pavao, Grant Imamura, Blaine Kimura, and Shannon Tanoue.
The top 24 players earn exempt spots for the 2003 Amatour Hawai'i season.
35 go after two Sony Open spots
A field of 35 Aloha Section PGA players will compete for two spots in the 2003 Sony Open in Hawai'i Monday at Waialae Country Club.
Ron Castillo Jr. is already in the Sony Open after earning the 2002 Aloha Section Player of the Year honor.
Players tee off from 7 a.m. Monday. The field includes 1990 Hawaiian Open champion David Ishii and former Players of the Year Kevin Hayashi and Brian Sasada.
The section will pay the entry fees of the two qualifiers. The Sony Open in Hawai'i will be Jan. 16-19.
